%%%%%%%%%% ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries %%before uncommenting them.%%%%%%[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/CenobyteSquad_3857.jpg]][[caption-width-right:350:[-Angels to some, Demons to others. From left to right: Butterball, Pinhead, the Female, and the Chatterer.-]]]

->''"Oh, no tears, please. It's a waste of good suffering."''-->-- '''Pinhead''', ''Hellraiser'' (1987)

''Hellraiser'' is a series based on Creator/CliveBarker's novella "Literature/TheHellboundHeart". The novella has a novel-length sequel, ''The Scarlet Gospels' by Barker himself, but the movies based on the novella have garnered the most attention. The first film, an adaptation of the original novellas, has inspired eight film sequels, only one of which (the second), had any direct involvement by Baker himself. A {{Remake}} of the first film languishes in (no pun intended) DevelopmentHell. It has also spun off into countless comic books, some of which have had input from Barker.

The series has at its heart a puzzle box known as the Lament Configuration, which when properly solved summons the Cenobites, a cadre of sadomasochistic {{Humanoid Abomination}}s. The icon and representative of the series is the only recurring Cenobite after the second film, the iconic Pinhead, played by Creator/DougBradley. He was given a choice, when filming the first movie, to play either the Cenobite or a workman who showed up for all of ten seconds. Bet he's happy he went with the Cenobite. ''The Scarlet Gospels'' kills off the the character of Pinhead, though it doesn't share a continuity with anything else in the series bar the original novellas.

Because it's a Creator/CliveBarker production, expect much BodyHorror and gleefully fetishistic FanDisservice.

!!The series in general:* AllThereInTheManual: Blurbs on the packaging of the minor Cenobites' action figures give them backstories. * ArtifactOfDoom[=/=]SummoningArtifact: The Lament Configuration; leads to an OhCrap moment at the conclusion of each of the first several sequels.* AscendedMeme: The "Lead Cenobite" of the first film was given the nickname of Pinhead by the film's fans. In the second film, Pinhead became his official name, and remained such through all the other sequels. [[Main/CreatorBacklash Much to Clive Barker's irritation.]]* BadassBoast:** Pinhead [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGAPUTHMyOk&feature=player_detailpage#t=42s doesn't care what God thinks.]]** Pinhead [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQ__LyhyNoA#t=34s is pain.]]** The series is full of these, and Pinhead can [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nnaeO6QSPI back most of these up.]]* BaldOfEvil: You'd be hard-pressed to find a Cenobite who isn't bald.* BeatStillMyHeart: The second and fourth films but started with the first. [[spoiler:Frank's heart is still there, after all.]]* BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil:** The Cenobites have been literally turned into monsters by years of hellish torment.** Frank. Even if he was a scheming jerk as a human, he didn't turn into a sadistic, vampiric killer until he had spent years in Hell with the Cenobites.* BigBad: Pinhead is revered as the main antagonist of the series, although often another character functions as the main antagonist or the villain who kick starts the storyline. ''Julia'' was originally supposed to be the Big Bad for the series, but the actress declined to reprise the role after the first sequel. The producers, it turns out, [[EnsembleDarkHorse dramatically underestimated Pinhead's popularity.]]** The original film has Frank Cotton, who the cenobites are on Earth to retrieve.** ''Hellbound'' has a BigBadDuumvirate between Julia Cotton and Phillip Channard, although both double cross each other, but Channard comes out being the dominant threat.** ''Hell on Earth'' has Pinhead take the role as main antagonist, but technically it's the demonic spirit that separated from the soul of Elliot Spencer.** ''Bloodlines'' has Pinhead again, having usurped the role from Angelique.** ''Inferno'' has [[spoiler: Joseph Thorne, whose sins kick start the plot and the alleged serial killer known as Engineer, who is in fact a manifestation of Thorne's own cruelty]].** In ''Hellseeker'', [[spoiler: Trevor Gooden is technically this as it was his plot to have Kirsty Cotton killed that got the Cenobites following him. It can be argued that Kirsty is part of the BigBadEnsemble, as she was the one who got the Cenobites following Trevor in retaliation]].** ''Deader'' has Winter [=LeMarchand=] who is the leader of the Deader cult, and plans to take control of the Cenobites. ** ''Hellworld'', [[spoiler: the Host]].* BodyHorror: The Cenobites' lives (and the series itself) runs on this. * BondageIsBad: The Cenobites are literal extradimensional monsters (who were once human) dedicated to exploring the boundary between pleasure and pain on anyone stupid enough to summon them. Physically they look like leather-clad corpses with horrible bodily mutilations. This was made during the height of the '80's disapproval of bondage, and writer/director Clive Barker is very interested in the transgressive.* BreakingSpeech: As time went on Pinhead became more and more prone to these; psychological pain instead of simply physical pain.* BreakoutVillain: Pinhead.* ChekhovsGunman:** Probably just a coincidence, but at one point in ''Bloodline'' its mentioned John has a brother, and at the end of ''Deader'' its revealed Winter is descended from Lemarchand...** The strange hobo from the first film. [[spoiler: He's a demon and he takes the box back for himself.]]* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Kirsty's boyfriend Steve survives the first film but is never mentioned again.* ContinuityCreep: Inverted. The first four films follow a linear plotline, with each entry contributing to the series' mythology. Subsequent films have mostly NegativeContinuity.* DarkerAndEdgier: Yes, [[SerialEscalation even for a series which started off as it did.]]. The fifth (''Inferno'') and sixth (''Hellseeker'') films don't have the {{Gorn}} from the other films and are more psychological and deal with characters who have become ensnared by the box. Rather than immediately getting dragged in and ripped apart by Pinhead and his cronies, they live out a personal Hell with manifestations of their wrongdoings tormenting them. [[DownerEnding No happy endings are to be found here]]. At the end, Pinhead, who acts more like a judge, gives a BreakingSpeech and drops a LaserGuidedKarma bomb on our JerkAss protagonists.* DarkIsNotEvil:** More evident in the first two films, in which the antagonists are invariably human and the Cenobites, despite being DemonicInvaders, are clearly only an interested third party. They ''assist'' TheProtagonist in both films. Pinhead, in the first film, famously describes his group as "demons to some, angels to others".** Even more so in the novella, where (except for the [[MindRape soul rape]] you forever thing) the Cenobites are [[AffablyEvil quite amiable]], [[spoiler: and do not renege on their deal with Kirsty as they do in the movie]].* DarkWorld: The implicit setting after a character solves the puzzle box but before they're taken to the Labyrinth: the surroundings change to become deserted, blood-drenched and adorned with chains.* DeadpanSnarker: Pinhead, very much so. * DealWithTheDevil: When it comes right down to it, this is what the whole series is about. The pursuit of ultimate pleasure or forbidden knowledge, wherein the seeker places their trust and fate in the hands of unknown entities of supernatural origin. The Cenobites deliver. It's just that, in true Deal With The Devil style, the ultimate pleasure that the seekers ''get'' is not usually the kind they ''want''.* DeathByMaterialism: Everybody just has to have the Lament Configuration.* DemonOfHumanOrigin: The Cenobites rule over a Hell-type dimension of pain and pleasure where they torture those who used the [[ArtifactOfDoom Lament configuration puzzle box]] that opens the door to their realm. Each Cenobite was once a human soul until their humanity was slowly chipped away. When they die they actually [[ThisWasHisTrueForm turn back into humans]].* DolledUpInstallment: Each installment between ''Bloodlines'' and ''Revelations'' started out as unrelated scripts which the studio bought and added Pinhead to them.* EldritchAbomination: Leviathan is a deity in the Cenobite dimension, never seen directly because it's too weird.* ExpandedUniverse: A surprisingly large, detailed one, developed largely by comics in {{Marvel}}'s Epic adult comics line. * EvilIsVisceral: Uses this trope in the extreme; lots of gorn and body horror.* EvilSoundsDeep: Pinhead's signature deep voice. "WE'LL TEAR YOUR SOUL APART!"* EvilVersusEvil: Sadistic aliens/demons versus evil humans.* FanService: As the series went on, there seemed to be more and more topless women just for the sake of having topless women.* FinalGirl: Played straight in the first three and ''Hellworld'' but subverted in ''Hellseeker''. [[spoiler:Kirsty lives, but she's murdered people to escape this time. Since her husband went to Hell partly due to his desire to murder her, this implies she's condemned herself.]]* FlayingAlive: Once someone is brought back to life, they are skinless. Only by killing others and stealing their flesh does the outside gets fixed.* FrickinLaserBeams: Show up quite often, and not just in the film set in space.* GainaxEnding: ''Hellworld'', and all the made-for-video sequels to some extent. Before that, the second film, with many a movie critic complaining that the climax didn't make sense. At the very least, figuring out what the Leviathan Configuration does, and what happened at the end [[spoiler:when Tiffany resolved it]] will take [[WildMassGuessing some guesswork]] on the viewer's part.* {{Gorn}}: Lots of visceral and bloody; the cenobites are delivers of pain after all.* GreaterScopeVillain: Leviathan, the god and creator of the Cenobites. It only appears in ''Hellbound'', but is featured with much more prominence in the comics.* HaveAGayOldTime: The word "cenobite" originally referred to a monastic living as part of a religious community. Since the release of ''Hellraiser'' and its sequels, however, the word now brings to mind pain-loving demons. * {{Hellseeker}}: There are several characters with this mindset, and for some of them it even kind of works out: they're turned into Cenobites, and enjoy it.* HooksAndCrooks: Cenobites attack their victims with hooks on chains.* HumanoidAbomination: The Cenobites.* {{Interquel}}: All the movies released after ''Bloodline'' take place in between the 1996 and 2127 segments of that film.* LegacyCharacter: The Lemarchand family, though the Chatterer's more visible and continuously invoked.* MindRape / MindScrew: To put it mildly, once somebody opens that puzzle box, they will never get to experience normality again.* MotiveDecay:** Originally, Pinhead's goal was to claim whoever opened the box (with the twist being that he was open to compromise and making deals with his victims to spare them, at least temporarily) and bring them pleasure via intensely violent and gore-filled sadomasochism. By the third film, he's a general of a Hell dimension and the box, rather than being a tool for pleasure/pain, is nothing more than a cursed object used by Pinhead to ensnare fresh victims to turn into lackeys to swell the ranks of his unholy army. It is implied that having his orderly half split off at the end of the second film is largely to blame for this.** ''Pinhead vs. Marshall Law'', which came out during a period when Clive Barker attempted to launch a Pinhead-centric comic book for Marvel, attempts to {{Retool}} Pinhead within the context of the then-pending third film by suggesting that while the Cebonites are agents of Hell, they believe in order over chaos and that Pinhead's various schemes to conquer Earth are all an elaborate {{plan}} to scare humanity, make them stronger, and ultimately more fearful of evil.** ''Hellraiser IV'' did this far more blatantly. While there was at least an explanation for Pinhead's decay in ''III'', in ''IV'' he had been re-merged with his human half. In this one Pinhead seems to start off very blatantly pursuing the Bloodline that opened a portal to Hell but never paid but yet he was AGAIN trying to plunge the entire world into hell during the process. Talk about DisproportionateRetribution.* MrFanservice: Pinhead's human self, Captain Elliot Spencer... and Pinhead himself. As mentioned earlier, the fanservice and fan disservice is mixed...so...hot zombie?* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Nice job [[spoiler:restoring Pinhead's humanity]], Kirsty. Too bad that his evil side no longer follows his rules.* NightmareFetishist: The Cenobites, but also most of the people who knowingly use the box. The latter tend to regret the choice, however.* NoNameGiven:** "Pinhead" actually started out as a FanNickname (and creator Clive Barker did not like it, saying that it was undignified). He was referred to as "Priest" in scripts and "Lead Cenobite" in the credits of the films. It wasn't until the third film (when a backstory for the character was given) that it was revealed that the name he had when he was human was [[spoiler: Elliott Spenser]]. Barker revealed his actual name as a Cenobite in the novel ''The Scarlet Gospels'': [[spoiler: Hell Priest]].** The same can be said for the members of Pinhead's entourage that appeared in the first two films. None of them were referred to by name. (The credits billed them as "Butterball", "Chatterer", and "Female Cenobite", which were more descriptions than names.)* ReligionOfEvil: The Cenobites themselves in the original novella, as servants of the Order of Gash (the word Cenobite means a monk or nun in a convent).* RomanticizedAbuse: The ''Hellraiser'' films have this as a component, creeping most viewers out even further. "We have such sights to show you". The novel version ''The Hellbound Heart'' has the initial description of the female Cenobite invoke piercing fetishism.* SealedEvilInACan: The Lament Configuration again, and the pillar in the third film, plus the floorboards and the mattress in the first and second films. All of them contain cenobites in one form or another.* SenseFreak: The Cenobites. Albeit to a very, ''very'' extreme degree.* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: As the series went on, Pinhead starts to give these speeches to the people he tortures.* ThePowerOfBlood: The first three films have Frank, Julia and Pinhead coming back via blood.* VariableLengthChain: Pinhead's specialty is shooting out chained hooks from nowhere with no indication on how long they are.* VillainExclusivityClause: Pinhead is the BigBad in every movie (though his role and contributions vary).* VillainsOutShopping: All the films after ''Bloodline'' involve Pinhead just performing his day job. It's still evil, but contributes nothing to the series' overall mythos.* TheVoiceless: Every Cenobite (except Pinhead) that appears after ''Bloodline''.* WasOnceAMan: Every Cenobite was once human, which would later become an inspiration for one [[{{Manga/Berserk}} Kentaro Miura]]. Also, when a Cenobite dies, his or her body [[DyingAsYourself returns to its original form.]]* WeaponOfChoice:** Pinhead: The hooked chains.** Female: [[SinisterScythe A sickle]]** Julia likes hammers.* WelcomeToHell: Literally, in this case.* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: Most of the Cenobites, when you understand that all of them were created from severe, unyielding emotional pain.* WordsDoNotMakeTheMagic:** One character in the second film solves puzzles reflexively, as she has a psychological detachment that forces her to do so whether she wants to or not. She's given the Lament Configuration so that someone else can sacrifice her to the Cenobites, while he can safely watch what happens. The Cenobites ignore her, and proceed to hunt him -- his was the desire that led to the box opening.--> '''Pinhead:''' It is not hands that summon us. It is desire.** In ''Revelations,'' Niko tries the same trick and also fails, although Pinhead doesn't bother spelling it out this time.** In ''Bloodline'' the same trick is used again, but with a robot. It works because the robot, being programmed to open the box, does want to in a sense close enough to draw the Cenobites to it. They are able to move through the station afterwards, once the room the box was opened in is opened.

!!The comic books:* BadWithTheBone: Refugees from the Labyrinth in the ''Hellraiser Summer Special'' craft the bones of one of their dead members into weapons to battle the LegionsOfHell, since only something "of Hell" can harm something else "of Hell".%%* TheBoxingEpisode* BroadStrokes: WordOfGod has stated the Boom! Studios comics will be taking this approach to the post-''Hellbound'' sequels.%%* ChristmasEpisode* CrazyCatLady: One comic featured one of these. She summons the Cenobites and agrees to go with them willingly if they help her take revenge on the neighbor who had been capturing and torturing her cats to death.* DepravedKidsShowHost: Clown from the comic series was originally a Saturday morning show host named Winky Dink who wound up becoming a Pseudo-Cenobite, charged with keeping the children who wind up in The Labyrinth occupied so they don't run amok, causing chaos. He does so through pretty disgusting ways (not entirely by choice though, since Leviathan punishes him if he does anything remotely pleasant). A later story reveals he'd been upgraded to a complete, overly-sadistic Cenobite at some point, having finally gotten his "routine" right.* {{Fartillery}}: ''The Harrowers'', a shortly-lived SpinOff, has Ovid. A [[OurAngelsAreDifferent cherub]] who serves the goddess of [[OrderVersusChaos life and chaos]]. One of his powers is anti-demon farts.* HandOfGlory: Balberith, Hell's Librarian created a Hand from the man who summoned her that turned her {{invisible}}.* HumansAreCthulhu: It's stated that [[EldritchAbomination Leviathan]] abhors humanity, viewing it as chaotic and disgusting.* IntercontinuityCrossover: The comics had the series crossover with ''Comicbook/MarshalLaw'' and ''Nightbreed''.* UsefulNotes/JackTheRipper: One comic reveals that The Ripper became a Cenobite.* KingOfTheHomeless: One comic has a literal King of the Homeless, holding court in the sewers.* MonsterClown: The comics gave us the Clown Cenobite (aka Winky Dink).* OrderVersusChaos: According the comics, the Cenobites are order. In one of the more comedic stories, an obnoxious, lazy office worker spends all his time tinkering with one of the puzzle boxes, distracting his fellow employees and annoying his borderline ClockKing boss, who easily solves the puzzle for him, summoning some Cenobites. The Cenobites prepare to take the boss to the Labyrinth, only to be told off by him; the boss says he only solved the puzzle because it was disrupting the order, productivity and perfectionism he constantly strived for, which the Cenobites are now doing. The Cenobites mull this over for a bit, eventually decide the boss is essentially "doing Leviathan's work" and decide to take the employee, who the boss had earlier described as "a gear that has become misaligned", in his place.* SenseLossSadness: In the comics, Pinhead wishes to become human again because all Cenobites experience SenseLossSadness when they are transformed, and he is ''sick'' of it. But to do that, he needs to find a suitable replacement...%%* SpinOff: The Harrowers.* TimeTravel: The ''Pinhead'' miniseries from 1993 has Pinhead being send into different time periods to stop a plot that threatens the existence of his lord Leviathan and the order that he represents.----